At any large gathering here in Detroit you are as apt to see men and women dressed in flowing African garb as in so-called American clothes. The pride in their African heritage runs deep. It is what makes this city unique.

When people outside of Detroit think of our city, they think of automobiles, Motown and crime. But Detroiters see things differently. When we think of our city we think of our jazz and electronic music histories as well as Motown, our dozens of free music festivals throughout the summer months, our city island park--Belle Isle--home to the Grand Prix and Gold Cup races, our beloved Detroit Tigers, Lions, Red Wings and Pistons. We think of our world-class Detroit Symphony, and the most significant Diego Rivera murals in the United States that have graced the walls of our Detroit Institute of Arts since 1931. We think of Hart Plaza with its Isamu Noguchi Pylon and Fountain, the site of festivals, fireworks, rallies, and every Labor Day weekend, of the Detroit International Jazz Festival at which this photo was taken. We think of racial, ethnic, cultural and religious diversity; Detroit is truly a world community. We think of a city where industry was king, now going back to its roots as farmland through the planting and tending of urban gardens by community groups across the city, gardens on sites where abandoned houses have been torn down. We think of young people coming from around the world to join in the revitalization of Detroit's neighborhoods, young people whose environmental consciousness has replaced their cars with bicycles.

Yes, we also have crime, homelessness, unemployment, a terrible divide between the rich and the poor, a struggling school system, scandals involving our government officials, and youth addicted to drugs and violence. We are a city that some suburbanites fear to enter. But in my 42 years of living in the Detroit area, all I have personally experienced in this city has been hospitality, love and help whenever I needed it. I call Detroit home and its people my sisters and brothers. Together we are making this city what we always knew it could be. Come visit--I bet we’d surprise you!